The Honeymoon, Part 1: Kauai, Hawaii

I’m super overprotective of my camera when I travel, especially when I’m flying. When we boarded the plane in Indianapolis for Honolulu, Nathan offered to put my camera bag in the overhead compartment. I laughed. “I don’t want my bag mingling with the other bags!”

Instead I opted to sit [very uncomfortably] with it under the seat in front of me for seven hours.

That’s why, considering how much I baby that thing, it’s kind of amazing that I lost one of my camera’s memory cards during the honeymoon. Yes, you read that correctly. I LOST one of my CF cards in HAWAII. And yes, it had pictures on it. From the honeymoon. It’s a photographer’s worst nightmare.

Over the past week, I’ve been trying to convince myself that it’s not as bad as it seems. At least I only lost three of the 11 days. At least I edited one photo from that card while we were on vacation. At least I have the memories!

It worked a tiny, tiny bit, but you better believe that the next time I travel, I’m DUCT TAPING MY CF CARDS TO MY SIDE.

Anyways, Kauai was absolutely beautiful. If you haven't been to Hawaii and you have a chance to go, I would definitely recommend this island for how remote and lush and natural it is. Enjoy part 1 of our honeymoon. Oahu is next!

101 in 1001

I love lists. I love making lists. I love reading lists. I especially love checking things off lists. For some reason, lists motivate me. If I write something on my to do list, you better believe I will do everything in my power to cross it off. It's kind of like how once I start a book I can't stop until I've read the last word on the last page. And I don't skip around. Ohhhh no. I go front to back, beginning to end. I guess you could say I'm a rules follower. And weird. You could say that. :) So of course I LOVE the idea of a 101 in 1001 list (see the original idea here). Have you heard of this? You make a list of 101 things you want to accomplish in 1,001 days. So almost three years-ish. It's the perfect length of time because you can include some really big, stretch goals and some small goals that you're almost sure you'll complete.

For me, a 101 in 1001 list practically mandates me to accomplish life goals. Yes, please! So I made one. I WILL [do my very best to] cross everything off. And I WILL be jumping around. No front to back, beginning to end here. It's going to be glorious. :)

START DATE: Sept. 3, 2011 (Because you'll notice that #10 happened on this very date.)

END DATE: May 31, 2014

    1. Buy a camera bag I can shoot with. (completed 5.1.12)
    2. Visit Barry in Madeira. (completed 2.4.12)
    3. Visit Linds in Scotland. (Tickets are booked for the fall!)
    4. Buy a house. (completed 12.28.11)
    5. Run a 10K. (completed 11.28.13)
    6. Clean out my inbox! (completed 1.17.12)
    7. Organize my personal pictures.
    8. Read 7/25 books in a year. (Attempting this for 2014!)
    9.  Join the B School. (completed 12.7.11)
    10. Get married! (completed 9.3.11)
    11. Shoot a charity event for free. (completed 8.15.13)
    12. Shoot a session/wedding for free. (completed 10.12.13)
    13. Leave an extra generous tip for a deserving waitor/waitress.
    14. Join a church (i.e., become a member). (completed 3.25.12)
    15. Create our wedding album. (completed 3.14.13)
    16. Make a homemade cheesecake.
    17. Splurge on a desktop computer and update Adobe software. (completed 3.20.12)
    18. Go on a bicycle trip.
    19. Upgrade my camera. (completed 12.19.11)
    20. Cook a completely fresh, organic meal.
    21. Host a fondue party (with our new fondue set!).
    22. Update my address book. (completed 4.29.14)
    23. Make s’mores cake in a jar. (completed 10.29.11)
    24. Plant a garden. (completed 9.20.13)
    25. See Niagara Falls. (completed 8.19.12)
    26. Find my photography style. (completed 2.21.13)
    27. Eat at Melt. (completed 10.28.11)
    28. Pick apples. (completed 10.8.11)
    29. Create a canvas of my work. (completed in 2013)
    30. See Jon McLaughlin in concert again. (completed 10.27.11)
    31. Watch every “I Love Lucy” episode. (completed 2.15.14)
    32. Join a young adult or young couples church group. (completed in 2012)
    33. Ski down a moderate-sized hill without falling. (completed 1.23.13)
    34. Read a devotional.
    35. Create a pricing booklet for prospective clients. (completed 10.25.11)
    36. Get a wedding or session published (anywhere). (completed 11.12.12)
    37. Connect with local photographers/vendors. (always ongoing, but definitely achieved this goal!)
    38. Upgrade our bedroom furniture through a DIY project. (completed 7.18.13)
    39. Take a Photoshop tutorial/workshop.
    40. Attend a national gymnastics event. (completed 6.12.12)
    41. Visit Lake Michigan again.
    42. Join a book club.
    43. Organize and combine our filing cabinets.
    44. Read Emma by Jane Austen.
    45. Visit the West Side Market. (completed 10.15.11)
    46. See a show at Playhouse Square. (completed 12.14.13)
    47. Take a weekend trip to Chicago with Nathan. (completed 12.1.12)
    48. Find a way to get more involved with the Middle East.
    49. Create a sample album. (completed 1.9.13)
    50. Learn how to (correctly) sew a button onto a shirt or pair of pants.
    51. Volunteer with a project/program.
    52. Send personally created Christmas cards.
    53. Make a cake from scratch and display it on our cake stand. (completed 2.14.12)
    54. Have a holiday at our house.
    55. Get a new car (even though I love Nancy). (completed 4.29.13)
    56. Organize my recipe book.
    57. Go on a girls’ trip. (completed 3.9.14)
    58. Go through my Real Simples and only keep pages, not entire issues.
    59. Visit Stan Hywet at Christmas. (completed 12.3.11)
    60. Purchase photography business cards. (completed 3.16.12)
    61. Read a Rob Bell book. (completed 2.6.12)
    62. Read Shauna Niequist’s new book. (completed 4.8.13)
    63. Read 0/5 business books.
    64. Visit Hocking Hills. (completed 10.18.13)
    65. Take a cooking class.
    66. Adopt a family at Christmas.
    67. Visit Canada. (completed 8.19.12)
    68. Go horseback riding again.
    69. Take a class at the YMCA. (completed 10.24.11)
    70. Make my parents dinner.
    71. Make my grandma dinner.
    72. Visit Cheryl in Atlanta.
    73. Carve a pumpkin. (completed 10.29.12)
    74. Go sledding … and drink hot chocolate afterwards.
    75. Create an emergency savings account. (completed 8.15.12)
    76. Buy a piece of art by a local artist.
    77. Get and use a rain barrel.
    78. One year, wrap all Christmas presents with recycled/reused paper/accessories.
    79. Play tennis and hit the ball at least five times in a row :) .
    80. Play mini golf. (completed 6.17.12)
    81. Play real golf.
    82. Learn to drive a stick shift.
    83. Become a [true. real.] fan of a sports team.
    84. Make a new friend.
    85. Complete (actually complete!) a 365-day photo challenge. (completed 12.31.13)
    86. Watch 6/10 classic movies I’ve never seen. (1. Sixteen Candles  2. It's a Wonderful Life  3. Breakfast at Tiffany's  4. The Cider House Rules  5. Pulp Fiction  6. Psycho)
    87. Visit the zoo.
    88. Host a dinner party.
    89. Plant a tree.
    90. Read the first Harry Potter book.
    91. Learn how to work our grill. (completed 3.11.12)
    92. Take a road trip to somewhere random.
    93. Be able to do the splits again.
    94. Be able to do 10 pull-ups in a row again.
    95. Watch a sunrise.
    96. Get tickets to the Ellen Show.
    97. Blog every day for a month. (completed 8.31.12)
    98. Create a tithing budget and stick to it.
    99. Make hummus from scratch. (completed 1.2.14)
    100. Do Rob Bell’s Nooma series with Nathan.
    101. Decorate our house for Christmas. (completed 12.10.12)

Hello, Cleveland!

Nathan started looking for jobs in March and was determined to find exactly what he wanted. After getting his master's in clean and renewable energy engineering, he wanted to work on reducing buildings' energy consumption. Easy, right? NOT! Not in this economy. He looked and looked and looked. Got some interviews, but was told he needed experience in the field. Having been in the Air Force the last four years, he had experience in mechanical engineering, but not in what everyone wanted.

This is probably a good time to mention that he was looking EVERYWHERE. We were not going to be picky about where we moved from Cincinnati. He interviewed with companies in Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and Iowa, and he got some jobs offers, but nothing fit exactly.

I seriously don't know how people who are looking for jobs for months do it. I would get so frustrated! Nathan, however, was awesome and kept going until he found that perfect job, which some people probably thought was unrealistic.

In August, weeks before our wedding, he got THE job offer. He'd be reducing buildings' energy consumption while working at an established engineering and architecture firm. Score! And the craziest part? The job was in CLEVELAND! Cleveland! We wouldn't even be leaving the state! We thought that was hilarious after all the places he interviewed.

So, here we are. We're closer to my family and some friends, living in a great little neighborhood and getting to know the area. AND Lane Baldwin Photography is officially open for business in Northeast Ohio. If you or anyone you know needs/wants pictures, please send me a message! :)

It's been kinda gray here. But the skyline is still pretty. :)

Dear Wedding Party.

Dear Wedding Party, Thank you for helping us set up the entire reception site the day before the wedding. I'm sorry I was a teensy tiny bit stressed out.

Thank you for getting up at a too-early-to-mention time on a Saturday morning to get ready for our morning wedding. You all looked fabulous. :)

Thank you for braving the 100-degree weather so I could get the pictures I wanted before the ceremony. We owe you one!

Thank you for staying after every guest was gone to help clean up after the festivities were over. Seriously, how did we get friends like you?

Our day wouldn't have been the same without each of you standing up with us as we tied the knot.

We love you! Lane and Nathan

*Photo booth photos copyright of Sprout Squared Photography (the best photo booth team ever!)